Hoisting mechanism



T v M 7 a mm N e G m 1. w VAT 4,. T 6, m a H 2 .m S R M. A. ENGLISH EI'AL HOISTING MECHANISM Sept. 16, 1952 Filed July 18, 1949 Sept. 16, 1952 M. A. ENGLISH ETAL 2,610,743

HOISTING MECHANISM Filed July 18, 1949 :5 Sheets-Sheet 2 I N VEN TORS. MRK A. ENGL ISH ROBERT O. HORST Adz ATTORNEY p 1952 M. A. ENGLISH ETAL HOISTING MECHANISM 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed July 18, 1949 w R6 0 TM m MA ROBERT O. BORST A TTORIVE Y Patented Sept. 16, 1952 HOISTING MECHANISM Mark A. English, San Gabriel, and Robert 0.

Borst, Pasadena, Calif.; said Borst assignor to said English Application July 18, 1949, Serial No. 105,426

1 This invention relates to a hoisting mechanism and particularly to a truck-mounted hoist.

In a preferred form the invention contemplates a truck mounted hoist adapted to raise ice from the truck to the top of a refrigerated car, In the icing of refrigerator cars of conventionaldesign it is necessary to lift the ice to the top of the car. In many cases the ice is delivered to the cars by truck. It has been proposed heretofore to mounting a suitable hoisting means on the truck itself whereby the ice may be conveyed to the top of the refrigerator car independent of auxiliary equipment. A hoist of this type is described and illustrated in United States Patent 2,410,777 issued to Frank E. and Mark A. English, November 5, 1946. The hoist described in the aforesaid United States patent comprises a track running substantially horizontally along the truck body, a slider slidable in the track, a mast pivotally mounted at one-end to the slider, a guide pivot mounted above the track at the rear end of the truck and engaging the mast to guide it to and hold it in a vertical position and a cable running through the mast to a winch. The arrangement is such that, when not in use, the mast extends along the side of the truck above the track between the slider and the guide pivot. In this position the cable extending through the mast follows the track from the lower end of the mast to the winch located adjacent the opposite end of the track; When the cable is reeled in on the winch, the slider travels along the track towards the back end of the track, the guide pivot causing the mast to be' elevated to a vertical position when the slider reaches the rear end of the track.

We have now made improvements in the hoist as described above which facilitates its operation and extends itsfield of use. Accordingly, the present invention contemplates a hoist comprising an elongated track, a slider slidably mounted in the track, a mast pivotally mounted at one end to the slider and lying in a substantially vertical plane passing through the track, a pivot mounted above the track andl'adjustable on a line parallel to the axis of the track, the mast being slidably mounted to the pivot member, a cross arm on the upper endof the mast, flexible means connecting the pivot member to one end of the cross arm, a winch, a cable extendingfroni the opposite end of the cross arm through the mast to the winch, and spring-loaded means mounted adjacent the track andadapted to urge the lower end of the mast out of vertical position.

In many situations, it is found that an ice truck 6 Claims. (Cl. 2129) positioned to load a refrigerator car is on sloping ground so that amast extending truly perpendicularly from the body of the truck will be inclined toward or away from the refrigerator car. Accordingly, we have provided, in accordance with the present invention, a guide pivot which is quickly and easily adjusted along the longitudinal axis of the track to permit variation of the angular position of the mast with respect to the truck when the mast is in operating position. Additionally, and when the mast is in operating position, we have found from past experience that. there is some difilculty in returning the mast to the lowered position when the cable is released from the winch. Heretofore, it has been necessary to employ some means to start the travel of the slider along the track back towards the nonoperating position. Accordingly, we have pro.- vided a spring-loaded propulsion means which gives the lower end of the mast a thrust when it is released urging it away from the balanced position.

These and other features of the invention will be more clearly understood from the following detailed description taken in relation to the accompanying detailed drawings wherein:

Fig. 1 is anelevation of a preferred form of the hoist in accordance with our invention mounted on the side of a motor truck;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the hoist taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1; i

Fig. 3 is a sectional elevation taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a sectional elevation taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. 2 showing the mast in the raised position; I

Fig. 5 is a diagram showing the mannerin which the cable is connected in the hoisting means; l

Fig. 6 is a plan view on the line 66 of Fig. 1;

and v Fig. 7 is a side elevation of the pivot mean shown in plan in Fig. 6.

Referring to the drawings and particularly to Figs. ,1 and 2, a horizontal track III is mounted on the outside of a truck body ll and extends parallel to the body from cab I2 of the truck to the rear end of the body ll terminating in a housing 13. A slider I4 is mounted in the track to slide therein from the forward end of the track adjacent cab I2 to the rear end of the track adjacent the back of truck. body II. The track It) and slider [4 are shown ingreater detail in Fig.3 which is a sectional elevation onthe line 33 of Fig. 1. As illustrated in Fig. 3, the track I comprises a pair of channel members IDA, I BE supported by a bracket I6 having two spaced legs [A, [5B so as to open inwardly towards each other and to lie parallel to each other. The bracket 16 is afhxed to a platform I1 extending outwardly from the truck body II. The slider I 4 comprises a rectangular block adapted to fit within the opposing track members IOA, B of the track and to travel along the track.

A mast [8, which is preferably tubular in form to minimize the weight thereof is hinged to the slider I4. The hinge means comprises a pair of end brackets 20, 2| affixed to and extending upwardly from the upper surface of slider I4 and having an axle or pivot pin 22 journalled therethrough. A hinge member 24 is affixed to the lower end of mast l8 (see Fig. 3)v and is mounted on the pivot pin 22, the arrangement is such that when the mast is in the vertical position,,the lower edge thereof will rest on slider [4 (see Fig. 4).

Anotched catch 25 is mounted to and extends rearwardly from slider 14 and is engaged, when the mast is in vertical position, by a vertical pawl21 slidably mounted on the rear faceof housing l3 by studs 29, a lever arm mounted on a shaft 3| engages the lower portion .of pawl 21 and provides means for lifting the pawl free of catch 26.

A guide pivot 32 is mounted above the rear end of track In on a framework 33. Thegulde pivot is shown most clearly in the plan view of Fig. 6 taken on the line 6-6 of Fig. 1 and in the elevation view of Fig. 7 and includes atubular sleeve 35 pivotally mounted in'a bracket 31, the bracket being supported by the aforementioned framework 33. The tubular sleeve 35 has a pair of axles, extending therefrom perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the sleeve the axle 38 being visible in Fig. 6. The bracket 31 is slotted on its opposite sides as for example slot 40 and the axles of the sleeve are slidably journalled in the opposite slots in the bracket. Conveniently a brass bearing block 42 is slidably mounted in each of the slots 40 and the axles are journalled in these blocks. Bearing block 42. is shown mounted in slot 40 (see Fig. 6). Cover plates 44, 45 are fastened to the outside of bracket 31 over the slots therein to hold the bearing blocks within the slots. The cover plates .44, 45 are shown in Fig. 6, and one of the cover plates appears in the side elevation shown in Fig. 7. A yoke'48 is journalled to the axles of the sleeve inside of the bracket and is connected to an adjusting screw threaded through the end of the bracket. The positioning of sleeve 36 with respect to the longitudinal axis of the bracket 31 may be adjusted by turning the screw 50. Referring again to Fig. 1 which shows the mast in vertical position in dotted lines, it is evident that the angular orientation of the mast in a vertical plane passing through track I 0 may be adjusted by adjustment of the sleeve 35 in bracket 31, this being accomplished by adjustment of screw '50.

A cross arm 54 is connected to the upper end of the mast by a universal joint 55 which permits the cross arm to rotate aroundthe. topof the mast and also permits angular movement between the cross arm and .the mast. An ice holding means, as for example tongs 56, is suspended from a cable 53 which passes over a pulley 59 located at one extremity of the cross arm 54. The cable extends back along the cross arm 54 and over a pulley 60 down through mast I8 and back along track 10. At the rear end of track ID the cable passes over a pulley 62 rotatable on an axis transverse to the longitudinal axis of the track and from thence around a pulley 63 1'0- tatable on an axis perpendicular to the axis of pulley 62 and parallel to the longitudinal axis of the track and from thence to a winch 84. The arrangement of the cable is shown diagrammatically in Fig. 5.

As shown in Figs. 3 and 4, slider 14 has a central bore 65 through which the cable 58 passes when the mast is in vertical position and a longitudinal channel 66 extending from the central bore to the rear end of the rider. Channel 65 is substantially semi-circular in section and joins the central bore 65 in a smooth curve on a radius of the axisof rotation of hinge member 24. A curvilinear guide flange 68 is mounted on the rider and forms a continuation of the channel 66. The channel and guide flange orient cable 58 when the mast is in non-operating position as in Fig. l. The arrangement is such that when the mast is inthe lowered position as shown in Figs. land 3, the cable passes along the guide flange 68 and groove 66 of the rider back along track ID to the pulley 62. When the mast is in the vertical position shown in Fig. 4, cable 58 passes through bore 65 in slider l4, barely touches pulley -62.and passes around pulley B3 to the winch 64. As the mast slides toward the non-operating position, i. e. towards the left in Fig. 4, the cable isguided by the curvilinear channel and flange 68 sothat it is threaded over the pulley 62..

Asshown most clearly in Figs. 1, 2 and 4, a spring-loaded ejection mechanism is mounted adjacent the. .rear end of. track It) and directly abovethe track. This. mechanism comprises a pair of parallel rods 10, 12 extending between brackets mountedon the upper face of channel members 16A and 10B respectively. A tubular sleeveis slidably mounted on each of rods 10, 12, sleeve 13 bein slidable. on red 10 and sleeve 14 being slidableon rod 12. The rear end of the two sleeves are joinedtogether with a transverse tie-rod 16. The forward end of each of the sleeves 13, 14 is closed around the rod to which it is mounted and retains a helical spring which extends from the forward end of the sleeve rearwardlyv to the end of the corresponding rod. In the releasedposition shown in Fig. 2, the tie-rod 16 of the ejection means lies approximately above pulley'li'z i. e. in the path of the mast as it travels from the non-operative to the operative position. As the mast is raised to the operating 1:0- sition by winding the cable on winch 64, the hinge member 24 strikes the tie-rod 16 displacing sleeves 13, 14 towards the rear end of the track against the loading of the enclosed springs. When themast reaches the extreme rear end of the track; i. e. when it is in operation position, catch 26 isengaged by pawl 21 as shown in Fig. 4 holding the mast in this position and the ejection means'under springtension. As soon as the catch 26 is released by means hereinbefore described, the compressed springs within the ejection meansexpand forcing the lower end of the mast toward the forward end of the track i. e. toward the leftin Fig. 4. Once the mast balance has been disturbed in this manner, the slider M will continue to travel towards the forward end of. the track as the cable 58 is payed off of the winch 64'.

Assuming thatthe truck is loaded with ice and that the mast is in its lowered position as in Fig. 1, the operation is as follows. With the truck alongside a refrigerator car,' the winch is driven to reel in the cable. Hook 5'! on the ton'gs56 acts as a stop jamming in pulley 59' at-the end of the cross arm. As the cable is reeled in, slider I4 is pulled to the rear end of the track, i. e. towards the right in Fig. i. This raises the mast which slides in the pivot sleeve 36 while the sleeve is pivoting from the position shown in Fig. 1 to the positionshown in Fig. 7; When the mast reaches the vertical position which is achieved as the slider reaches the rear end of the track, catch 26 engages in pawl '21 holding the mast in this position. At the same time; and in the manner described above, the ejection carriage is displaced toward the rear end of the track compressing the springs which load the carriage by engagement of tie-rod against the mast hinge 24.

After the mast is locked in vertical position, the pivot sleeve 36 may be adjusted along a line parallel to the longitudinal axis of the track by appropriate manipulation of screw 50 to the point where the mast is substantially parallel to the side of the refrigerator car to be loaded. 'Ihis adjustment represents a simple and accurate means for compensating the mast for deviations of the track from the true horizontal position. If the winch is then reversed, the ice tong 56 may be dropped to the truck or the ground where a load is aiiixed. By again winding in the cable, the load, say a cake of ice is raised to an appropriate position for loading on to the top of the refrigerator car or into any other elevated receptacle.

To properly position the cross arm 54 with respect to the mast I8 and the particular loading job involved, the end of the cross arm opposite the lifting end i. e. opposite the cable carrying end is connected by means of a flexible chain or cable 80 to a perforated ring 82 mounted on the upper end of the pivot sleeve 36. As shown in Fig. 6, the ring 82 is provided with a plurality of holes 84 around its circumference in any one of which the cable 80 may be afiixed. Cross arm 54 is not centered on the mast l8 and the lifting end thereof is longer than the opposite end to which cable 80 is afiixed. Hence the balance is such that the cross arm will automatically assume a position with the short or anchored end extending from the axis of the mast in the direction of the particular hole in ring 82 to which cable 80 is attached. In this position the short end of the mast will be at the maximum distance from the ring 82.

When the particular loading job has been completed, catch 26 is released by momentary elevation of pawl 21 by means hereinbefore described.

Upon releasing the catch, the ejection mechanism through the medium of tie-rod l6 pushes the lower end of the mast and consequently slider l4, toward the forward end of the track a sufllcient distance to disturb the balance or dead centering of the mast. Thereafter, as the cable 58 is payed off of winch 64, rider 14 will slide along the track to the extreme forward end and the mast will be returned to the non-operating position shown in Fig. 1.

The hoisting means herein described, while similar in some respects to that described and illustrated in the aforementioned United States Patent 2,410,777, represents a considerable advancement in the art by virtue of the many improved features described herein and including the horizontal adjustable pivot sleeve, the automatic ejection means, the cross arm orientating means and improvements in the slider which automatically and properly positions the operating cable.

'We claim:

1. In a hoisting mechanism, the combination which comprises a'tra'ck, a slider slidably mounted in the track, a mastpivotally mounted at one end to the slider, a cross arm mounted on the opposite end of the mast,'a bracket, means mounting the bracket above the track, a tubular sleeve, means connected to the bracket and the sleeve pivotally supporting the sleeve on a horizontal axis transverse to the axis of the track, means for adjusting the location of the supporting means for the sleeve along a line parallel to the longitudinal axis of the track, the mast being slidably mounted in the sleeve, an annular ring aifixed to the upper end of the sleeve, and flexible means affixed to an end of the cross arm and detachablyaffixed. to the annular ring.

2. In a hoisting mechanism including a track, a slider slidably mounted in the track, a mast pivotally mounted to the slider, a hoisting means and a cable connected to the hoisting means and passing along the mast and the track, the improvement which comprises a bracket, means mounting the bracket above the track, the sides of the bracket being, parallel to the track and having elongated slots therein, a tubular sleeve mounted around said mast, a pair of pivot pins affixed to and extending from the sleeve diametrically opposite each other and a line perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the sleeve, the pivot pins being slidably journalled in the slots in said bracket, and a yoke suspended within the bracket on a stem threaded through the end of the bracket with the legs of the yoke engaging said pivot pins so that the sleeve may be adjusted within said bracket in the directionof said slots by turning said stem.

3. In a hoisting mechanism including a track, a slider slidably mounted in the track, a mast pivotally mounted at one end to the slider, a cross arm mounted on the opposite end of the mast, a hoisting means and a cable connected to the hoisting means and passing along the mast and the track, the improvement which comprises a sleeve, means pivotally mounting the sleeve above the track on a horizontal axis transverse to the axis of the track, adjustable means for moving the mounting means for the sleeve along a line parallel to the longitudinal axis of the track, the mast being slidably mounted through the sleeve, and an annular ring amxed around said sleeve in a plane perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the sleeve, and cable means afilxed to one end of the cross arm and detachably affixed to the annular ring.

4. In a hoisting mechanism including a track, a slider slidably mounted in the track, a mast pivotally mounted to the slider, a hoisting means, a cable connected to the hoisting means and passing along the mast and track, a pivot member, means mounting the pivot member above the track so that the pivot member is supported about a horizontal axis transverse to the length of the track, the mast being slidably mounted in the pivot member so that as the cable is shortened the slider travels along thetrack in the direction of the pivot member to raise the mast to a vertical position, and catch means for holding the mast in vertical position, the improvement which comprises a spring-loaded plunger, means for mounting the plunger above the track, means connected to the plunger for engaging the mast as it is raised. to vertical posi- 7 tion: to displace: the plunger. against loading.

5. In a hoisting mechanism including1a track, a. slider slidably mounted in the track, a mast pivotally mounted to theslider, a hoistingmeans, a cable connected to the hoistingmeans and passing along the mast and track so that as the cable is shortened the rider travels along the track, the improvement which comprises. a pair of springloaded plungers, means for mounting the plungers spaced from each other and above the track, means connecting the plungers and positioned to engage the mast as it is raised to vertical position to displace the plungers against the springloading, a pivot member, means mounting the pivot member. above the track so that the pivot member is supportedv about a horizontal axis transverse. to the lengthof. the track, and means for adjusting the location of the mounting means for the pivot member along an axis parallel to the longitudinal axis of the track, the mast being slidably mounted through thepivot member.

6. In a hoisting mechanism including an elongated track, a slider slidably mounted in the track, a mast pivotally mounted at one end to the slider, a bracket, means mounting the bracket above the track, a tubularsleeve mounted around the mast, a pair of pivot pins extending between the spring- 8 the: sleeve and. the bracket for. pivotally supportingthe sleeve about ahorizontal axis transverse to the length ofthe track,.and a universal joint connectedto the other end of the mast, the im- REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 475,923 Bowring May 31, 1892 1,344,659 Sjoberg June 29, 1920 2,072,398 Faulk Mar. 2, 1937 2,410,777 English et al Nov. 5, 1946 

